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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, perhaps affirming a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Losing and things could alter for good, and for good: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while drastic decisions remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso said here

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Descent After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the verdict was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the directives, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to bring it back to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso stated. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt alone that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he commented: “Communication [with the hierarchy] is constant, and it comes from confidence, unity and affection. We’re all together in this. We’re mentally ready to face everything that comes: the team is united, convinced that we can win tomorrow, no one has any doubts about that. It is the Champions League. We are at the Bernabéu. The atmosphere will be special. That creates a different energy, including in the players.”